ABSTRACT
The regulatory environment in which international airlines operate will continue to have major impacts on airline network structures, management strategies, and consequently, airline productivity and efficiencies. International air transport is traditionally regulated by a complex network of bilateral and multilateral agreements. This chapter reviews the current approaches to bilaterals by different countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and discusses problems and issues arising out of the current approaches. It describes the airline policy stance and general attitude of Northeast Asian countries when negotiating bilateral air treaties and/or in multilateral policy fora. In many countries, flag carriers are allowed to influence the bilateral negotiation process. The Asia-Pacific region is comprised of countries of very different political systems and economies of varying degrees of openness. Liberalization is almost entirely confined to domestic skies, and multilateralism, where it exists, remains within Asia-Pacific’s alluring borders.
